21,074 Shares in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Purchased by Sovereign Investment Advisors LLC

Sovereign Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 21,074 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $775,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NI. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in NiSource by 153.2% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in NiSource in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in NiSource in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in NiSource in the 3rd quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in NiSource in the 4th quarter worth about $66,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NiSource news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total transaction of $219,560.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $988,339.36. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NI opened at $39.48 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $38.35 and a 200-day moving average of $36.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.56 billion, a PE ratio of 24.37, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. NiSource Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.25 and a 12 month high of $41.44.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.05). NiSource had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 13.94%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.53 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. This is a boost from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $38.13.

NiSource Company Profile

NiSource Inc, an energy holding company, operates as a regulated natural gas and electric utility company in the United States. It operates in two segments, Gas Distribution Operations and Electric Operations. The company distributes natural gas to approximately 3.3 million customers through approximately 55,000 miles of distribution main pipeline and the associated individual customer service lines; and 1,000 miles of transmission main pipeline in northern Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky, and Maryland.